Tool for sharpening knives with scalloped edges



Sept. 7, 1937. c. R. cRossLEY- TOOL FOR SHARPENING KNIVES WITH SCALLOPED EDGES Filed Oct. 50, 1935 INVENTOR ATT RNEYS,

Patented Sept. 7, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOOL FOR SHARPENING KNIVES WITH SUALLOPED EDGES 6 Claims.

This invention has for its object a particularly simple and efficient tool for sharpening knives, particularly knives with scalloped edges, and more particularly a tool by which the knives of a slicing machine, as a bread slicing machine, can be quickly sharpened while in the machine.

It further has for its object a form of abrading member or abrading face of van abrading member by which the scalloped cutting edges are sharpened uniformly throughout, that is, the peaks as well as the hollows of the cutting edge sharpened uniformly by the same abrading member.

It further has for its object a tool which is particularly simple and economical in construction and highly efficient in use.

Other objects appear throughout the specification.

In describing this invention, reference is had to the accompanying drawing in which like characters designate corresponding parts in all thev views.

Figure 1 is a perspective end view, partly broken away, of a tool embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged end view showing the tool applied to one of a gang of knives, when in their position occupied in a slicing machine.

Figure 3 is an enlarged diagrammatic view showing the action of the abrading member on the peaks or high portions of the scalloped edge and adjacent portions.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 showing the action of the abrading member on the low portions of the scalloped edge.

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view showing the action of the abrading member on the edge of the knife.

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the slight rocking action of the abrading member.

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the angular relation of the abrading face to the axis of the supporting lever.

Figures 8 and 9 are respectively a side elevation and an end view of a slightly different form of abrading member than that shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 10 is a fragmentary elevation of a knife blade with a different form of scalloped edge than that shown in Figures 3 andl4 and which is sharpened by the form of abrading members shown in Figures 8 and 9.

This tool for sharpening knives or knife blades with scalloped edges comprises, generally a holder for receiving the knife or blade, an abrading member carried by the holder and so supported and arranged that itsabrading face conforms to the bevel of the knife edge at the high points, lower and lowest points of the scalloped edge. As shown herein, the abrading member has a flat abrading face inclined relative to the plane of the knife in the holder with the side edges of the flat faces converging or inclined toward each other, whereby the abrading face is in the general form of a truncated triangle, the abrading member being so arranged relative to the knife that the wider portion of the abrading member is toward the cutting edge of the knife, and the narrower portion of the abrading face toward the back edge of the knife, when in the holder. The knife receiving means of the holder includes an abutment member for engaging the opposite side of the blade to that engaged by the abrading member, and one of these members is spring pressed. Also, the abrading member or members are mounted to have a slight rocking movement about an axis parallel to the plane of the knife in the holder and extending in a direction widthwise of the knife and also to have a slight tilting movement toward and from the plane of the knife about an axis at a right angle to the former axis and extending in a direction lengthwise of the knife. It is owing to the flat abrading surface in the general form of a truncated triangle and to the slight rocking actions that the abrading member engages the high and low portions of the cutting edge of the knife substantially uniformly, that is, sharpens both the high and low portions. This operation is also facilitated by the relative arrangement of the abrading face to the lever carrying the abrading member.

In the illustrated embodiment of this invention, two abrading members are used for engaging simultaneously opposite sides of. the knife or blade.

The knife or blade B, as seen in Figure 6, is usually flat and the cutting edge is bevelled in contradistinction to concavely ground.

In the illustrated embodiment of my invention, the holder includes a suitable body I having a suitable handle 2 at one endand blade or knife receiving means at its other end, a lever 3 pivoted at 4 to the body and extending lengthwise thereof, an abrading member 5 and an abutment member 6 paired with the abrading member, one of said members 5,6, being carried by the lever at one end and extending beyond the end of the body remote. from the handle 2, the lever having at its other end a pinch handle 3% in position to coact with the other member at the end of the body and arranged in juxtaposition to the body to be pressed by the fingers of the hand grasping the handle 2. Preferably the abrading member is carried by the lever.

In the illustrated embodiment of my invention, there are two levers 3 arranged on opposite sides of the body and pivoted at 4 thereto, each carrying an abrading member 5 at its outer end, and the body I is formed bifurcated with the levers located between the bifurcations. The end of the body between the bifurcations is, however, closed by a head I having recesses 8 therein in which extend portions 9 of the levers on which the abrading members 5 are mounted.

Each abrading member 5 is here shown as pyramidal in general form, so that each face thereof is in the general form of a truncated triangle. When one abrading face is worn, the pyramidal abrading member can be shifted to bring another face into working position. Each abrading member is secured to the end of one of the levers 3 by means of a screw 5 extending axially through the abrading member and threading into the lever, and this screw is not tightened and loosely fits the axial passage in the abrading member, and hence permits a slight rocking movement of the abrading member about two axes, one extending axially of the screw, and the other at a right angle to the axis of the screw and in the direction lengthwise of the. knife. The abrading member is arranged with its narrower end toward the end of the lever, and the narrower end is located in an angular socket which fits the abrading member with suflicient looseness to permit the slight rocking actions. The abrading face of each member 5 is located in a plane containing the axis 4 of the lever, and this arrangement causes the abrading face to conform to the bevel of the knife edge. This action is facilitated by the rocking movement of the member 4.

The knife receiving means includes the abutment members 6 mounted on the head I, there being one abutment member for each abrading member, and each abutment member is arranged out of transverse alinement with its companion abrading member. The general arrangement of the abrading members and abutment members is that the abrading members are spaced apart and arranged to engage opposite sides of the knife blade B and the abutment members are paired with the abrading members and arranged between the abrading members and engage the opposite side of the knife blade from that engaged by the companion abrading member. The spring pressed members are carried by the levers 3 respectively, and in this embodiment of my invention, the spring pressed members are the abrading members. The levers are acted upon by springs l2 tending to press their handle. ends outward, and hence press the abrading members against the knife blade and press the knife blade against the abutments or guide rollers 6.

In Figures 8 and 9, an abrading member is shown for sharpening a knife having a scalloped edge E (Figure 10) where the scallops S are small or spaced a short distance apart, so that the knife edge resembles a coarse toothed saw. Also, the edge is slightly concavely ground instead of bevelled. The abrading member 50 is mounted to have the same rocking movements, as the abrading member 5 but the abrading faces 5| are slightly convex but not arcuate but more in the shape of a flat surface with the edges or corners rounded off and with the intermediate part slightly rounded.

This tool is especially adapted for sharpening the knives of a gang of knives of a bread slicing machine without removing the knives. The knives have a reciprocating movement and may be sharpened when the machine is running or is idle, by sliding the sharpening tool up and down.

In operation, the levers 3 are pinched toward the body against the action of the springs [2 to move the abrading members 5 away from the abutments, then, as seen in Figure 2, the tool is placed to receive the knife blade with the back edge of the knife engaging the head I. The knife blade rests upon the extended bottom of the abutments 6. The levers are then released, so that the abrading members 5 are pressed against the knife and also the knife against the abutments 6. While the knife is being reciprocated, the tool is slid along the blade to different portions thereof, so that in a few reciprocations, the entire blade is thoroughly sharpened.

Owing to the triangular shape of the abrading face and the rocking movements, all portions of the bevelled scalloped cutting edge of the knife are operated upon uniformly, both the high portions, as seen in Figure 3, and the low portions, as seen in Figure 4. The abrading members are so spaced that one is engaging the peak of one scallop while the other is engaging the low portion of another scallop.

What I claim is:-

1. A tool for sharpening knives with scalloped edges comprising a holder having means for holding thev blade, a pair of abrading members carried by the holder and on opposite sides of the blade, when engaged with the holding means, the abrading members being spaced apart in a direction lengthwise of the blade and each having a fiat abrading face inclined relative to the plane of the knife, when in the holding means, and the side edges of the flat face being also inclined toward each other, whereby the abrading face is in the general form of a truncated triangle, the abrading member being so arranged that the wider portions of said face engage the higher parts of the scalloped edge and the narrower portions the lower parts of said edge, said holding means including abutment members on the holder paired with the abrading members and arranged to engage the opposite side of the blade from that engagedby the companion abrading member, said abutment members being arranged between the abrading members and out of transverse alinement with the abrading members and with each other.

2. A tool for sharpening knife blades with scalloped edges, comprising a holder having means for engaging the blade with the cutting edge of the blade outward from the holder and an abrading member carried by the holder and having a fiat abrading face inclined relative to the plane of the blade when in the holder, with the abrading face converging relatively to the plane of the blade toward the cutting edge from a line toward the back edge of the blade, the side edges of the abrading face being inclined toward each other, whereby the abrading face is in the general form of a truncated triangle arranged with the wider portion of the triangular abrading face arranged to engage the higher parts of the scalloped edge and the narrower part the lower portion of the scalloped edge, the abrading member being mounted to have a slight rocking movement relative to the blade, and means for resiliently pressing the abrading member against the scalloped edge of the blade and permitting the abrading member to follow the scalloped edge.

3. A tool for sharpening knife blades withscalloped edges comprising a holder having means for engaging the blade with the cutting edge of the blade outward from the holder and an abrading member carried by the holder and having a flat abrading face inclined relative to the plane of the blade when in the holder, with the abrading face converging relatively to the plane of the blade toward the cutting edge from a line toward the back edge of the blade, the side edges of the abrading face being inclined toward each other, whereby the abrading face is in the general form of a truncated triangle arranged with the wider portion of the triangular abrading face arranged to engage the higher parts of the scalloped edge and the narrower part the lower portion of the scalloped edge, the abrading member being mounted to have a slight rocking movement relatively to the blade, and the side edges being also inclined toward each other, whereby the abrading face is in the general form of a truncated triangle, the abrading members being so arranged that the wider portion of the abrading face engages the higher parts of they scalloped edge and the narrower portion the lower part of said edge.

4. A tool for sharpening knife blades with the scalloped edges comprising a holder having means for engaging the blade with the cutting edge of the blade outward from the holder, a pair of abrading members carried by the holder on opposite sides of the blade, when engaged with the holding means, the abrading members being spaced apart in a direction lengthwise of the blade and each having a fiat abrading face inclined relatively to the plane of the knife, when in the holding means, and the side edges of the flat face being also inclined toward each other, whereby the abrading face is in the general form of a truncated triangle arranged with the wider portion of the triangular abrading face arranged to engage the higher portion of the scalloped edge and the narrower part, the lower portions of the scalloped edge, the abrading members being mounted to have a slight rocking movement relative to the blade, means for resiliently pressing the abrading members against the scalloped edge of the blade and permitting the abrading members to follow the scalloped edge and means for releasing said abrading members.

5. A tool for sharpening knives with scalloped edges comprising a holder including a body havthe end thereof arranged on opposite sides of the blade when engaged with the holding means, the abrading members being spaced apart in a direction lengthwise of the blade and each having a fiat abrading face inclined relatively to the plane of the knife, when in the holding means, and the side edges of the flat face being also inclined toward each other, whereby the abrading face is in the general form of a truncated triangle arranged with the wider portion of the triangular abrading face arranged to engage the higher portions of the scalloped edge and the narrower part the lower portions of the scalloped edge, the abrading members being mounted to have a slight rocking movement relative to the blade, said holding means including abutment members on the holder paired with the abrading members and arranged to engage the opposite side of the blade from that engaged by the companion abrading member, said abutment members being arranged between the abrading members and out of transverse alinement with the abrading members and with each other, and said spring levers resiliently pressing the abrading members against the scalloped edge of the blade,

permitting the abrading members to follow the scalloped edge.

6. A tool for sharpening knife blades with scalloped edges comprising a holder having means for engaging the blade with the cutting edge of the blade outward from the holder, said holder including a body having a pair of levers pivotally mounted between their ends on opposite sides thereof and extending lengthwise of the body,

the levers being spring-pressed and having pinch handles on one end thereof arranged in juxtaposition to the body, abrading members on the other end of said levers arranged on opposite sides of the blade when engaged with the holding means, and pressed toward the abrading members, being spaced apart in a direction lengthwise of the blade, and each having a flat abrading face inclined relatively to the plane of the knife when in the holding means and the side edges of the flat face being also inclined toward each other, whereby the abrading face is in the general form of a truncated triangle arranged with the wider portion of the triangular abrading face arranged to engage the higher portions of the scalloped edge and the narrower part the lower portions of the scalloped edge, the abrading members being mounted to have a slight rocking movement relative to the blade, said holding means including abutment members on the holder paired with the abrading members and arranged to engage the opposite side of the blade from that engaged by the companion abrading member, said abutment members being arranged between the abrading members and out of transverse alinement with the abrading members and with each other.

CLAUDE R. CROSSLEY. 

